Can Clemens Save the Yankees?
New York Looks to 44-Year Old Rocket to Save 2007 Baseball Season
Jun 1, 2007
It's been a terrible season for the New York Yankees. Even with the team's May 30, 2007 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees are still 13 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East Division. Their 22-29 record is the worst in the Bronx since the 1991season. Leading to this horrid record have been a series of injuries, a dearth of clutch hitting, some less than stellar fielding, and most of all, pitching problems the likes of which have never been seen by a Yankee team.
The Yankees Pitching Woes in 2007
Since the beginning of the season, New York has trotted out eleven diffierent starting pitchers. Six of those starters began the season in the minor leagues. Of their alleged major league pitchers, one is a 26-year old Japanese pitcher in his Major League rookie season, and his performance has been so bad that he was demoted to Class A last month. Another is Carl Pavano, who may just be the worst free agent signing in the history of any sport. The Yankees have also lost Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, and Chien-Ming Wang to injuries.
To put it bluntly, things are a damn mess. The only question is whether the Yankees can turn this thing around before they fall too far out of the running. Hoping to do just that, the team signed Roger Clemens in early May. The 348-game winner is scheduled to make his first appearance on June 4 against the Chicago White Sox. Yankee fans and the baseball world wonder whether Clemens can really be the force that saves the Yankees season. The smart money would bet against it. Here is why.
Starting Pitchers Rarely Impact Overall Team Performance
Because a starting pitcher only plays every fifth day, he is quite limited on the impact he can have on a team. There have been exceptions over the years. Ron Guidry went 25-3 for the 1978 Yankees, who came from 14 1/2 games back in July to win the AL East. Players on that team credit Guidry with providing the stability of a guaranteed win every outing, many of which stopped losing streaks or started winning streaks. In 2004 and 2006, the Twins roared back from the middle of the pack to win the AL Central, and credit the pitching and presence of Cy Young winner Johann Santana for saving the team's seasons. But Guidry and Santana both pitched full seasons and made at least 35 starts in their team's come-from-behind years. At best, Clemens will make 22 to 24 starts. Even if he is at his best, that may not be enough.
Clemens Doesn't Pitch Deeply Enough into Games
Secondly, Clemens, as great as he still is, cannot pitch deeply enough into games to guarantee a decision, let alone a win, in each start he makes. Even if he throws six shutout innings, he still must put the ball in the hands of one of the Yankees less than stellar relief corps. That could be very dangerous.
Clemens Must Slow Down Someday
Third, the Rocket is getting old. Although he has been getting old for quite some time, and pitched beautifully regardless of that fact, one has to question just how much longer the soon to be 45-year old can pitch at such a high level. If he can't, if he slips even a little, the Yankees will be in trouble. The last thing they need is another aging, mediocre hurler on the Yankee Stadium mound.
Plainly stated, it is highly unlikely that Roger Clemens will be able to turn things around for the Yankees. Of course, it would be stupid to count the man out. Remember, 11 years ago, the Boston Red Sox thought Clemens was in the twilight of his career. He proved them wrong, winning 150 games, four Cy Young awards, four pennants and two World Series since then. So, as said earlier, it would be less than intelligent to count him out. It's gonna be tough, though, very tough.
Very tough indeed.
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